France to Revamp Adoption System

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, January 8, 2002

The French government is in the final stages of overhauling the country's adoption rules to make it easier for families to adopt foreign babies and reduce waiting periods that often last several years.

The main objective of the project, which Family Minister Segolene Royal presented to the Cabinet on Wednesday, is to cut back waiting periods that typically last two years for international adoptions and four years for adoptions within France.

The new measures, expected to take effect within weeks, would make France's adoption system more centralized, and bring it in line with how adoptions are handled by other European nations, Royal said.

They would also reduce the number of intermediary adoption agencies that operate around the country.

Royal singled out the case of Vietnam, which recently established an adoption agreement with France and has received 1,400 requests from French families since 2001. Only 10 have been approved, she said.

Statistics show that the number of adoptions in France has decreased in recent years, although adoptions have increased in other European countries, Royal said. In 2000, French families adopted 2,964 children, down from 3,777 in 1998.

The project gives the government a stronger role in regulating how intermediary adoption agencies function and will provide the agencies with increased state funding, Royal said.

It also imposes standard regulations on agencies, such as barring criteria like religion and age in selecting prospective parents, Le Figaro reported.